Wagon-body



(No Model.) 2 Sheets-Shee1b l W. H. BOETTGHER.

' WAGON BODY.

15107571834. Patented Mar. 2, 1897.

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2 SheetsSbeet 2 (No Model.)

W. H. BIOETTGHERL WAGON BODY.

Patented Mar. 2, 1897.

' war/cw NITED STATES T OFFICE.

WILLIAM H. BOETTOIIER, OF MILWAUKEE, WISCONSIN.

WAGON-BODY.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 577,834, datedI /Iarch2, 1897. Application filed August 2'7, 1896. Serial No. 604,056. (Nomodel.)

To aZZ whom it may concern:

Be it known that LWILLIAM H. BOETTOHER, a citizen of the United States,residing at Milwaukee, in the county of Milwaukee and State ofWisconsin, have invented certain new and useful Improvements inWagon-Bodies; and I do declare the following to be a full, clear, andexact description of the invention, such as will enable others skilledin the art to which it appertains to make and use the same.

My invention relates to improvements in Wagonbodies; and it has for itsgeneral object to provide a strong, durable, and neatlyappearingwagon-body made up of a plurality of detachably-connected sections, thesaid body being adapted to be placed piece by piece on the running-gearof a wagon by a single person and there connected, and being alsoadapted to. be disconnected while on the running-gear and removed pieceby piece by a single person without great effort, and being furtheradapted to be compactly stored when not in use;

Other objects and advantages of the invention will be fully understoodfrom the following description and claims when taken in conjunction withthe annexed drawings, in which-- Figure 1 is a perspective View of myimproved wagon-body ready for use. Fig. 2 is a rear end elevation of thesame with the endgate partlyraised. Fig. 3 is a plan view illustratingthe bottom of the body and one of the sidewalls in position to beconnected to said bottom. Fig. 4 is a side elevation of the same, andFig. 5 is a transverse section illustrating the manner in which thepieces forming the bottom of the body are disconnected.

In the said drawings similar letters designate corresponding parts inall of the views, referring to which- A indicates the bottom of myimproved wagon-body. This bottom A, as better shown in Figs. 3 and 5,comprises the longitudinal section a, the longitudinal section b, theintermediate transverse beams c,which are fixedly connected to the underside of the section a and extend beneath and beyond the section b andare preferably provided at their ends with foot-boards d, the transversecleats e,which are also connected to the under side of the section a andextend beneath the section I), and the transverse end beams f,which arefixedly connected to the under side of the section b and extend beneathand beyond the section a, as shown. In virtue of this construction itWill be seen that when the sections at b are placed edge to edge thebeams and cleats of one and the beams of the other will form a firmsupport for the said sections and will hold them level with each other,as shown. It will also be observed that the cleats 6-, connected to thesection a, are arranged closely adjacent to the transverse beams f ofthe section b, so as to prevent endwise movement of the sections a bwith respect to each other.

B indicates keepers which are connected to the transverse beams of,adjacent to the outer edges of the bottom sections a b, and extendupwardly from said beams andhave their upper ends bent inwardly anddownwardly, as shown. These keepers B are designed for the engagement ofthe outwardly and upwardly bent hooks C of the side walls D, and inorder to limit the movement of said hooks 0 when they are shoved intoengagement with the keepers 13 stops g are provided upon the.

outer edges of the bottom sections a b, as illus trated. The hooks O arepreferably formed at the ends of straps E, which are connected to andextend the full height of the side walls D of the body and serve tomaterially strengthen the said walls.

The side walls D are provided at their inner sides adjacent to theirends with vertical guideways h, which are preferably formed by strips1', connected to the side walls, although they may be formed in anyother suitable manner. These guideways h are designed and adapted toreceive and hold the forward and rear end Walls F G of the body, whichare similar in construction with the exception that the forward wall ispreferably provided with a dash j, as shown. The said walls F G aredesigned and adapted to be secured to the side walls D by the mechanismillustrated in Figs. land 2, which comprises the levers H, fulcrumedupon the outer sides of the end walls, the rods I, which are connectedto the levers H on opposite sides of the fulcrums thereof and extendthrough guides 70 and have the inwardly-directed portions Z at theirends designed to take into sockets min the side walls d, and the pivotedarms J, which are designed to engage the levers H in the manner shown inFig. 1 and thereby secure the rods I in the sockets of the walls D.

In Fig. 1 of the drawings the several sections forming my improvedwagon-body are shown as connected together and ready for use. Now whenit is desired to disconnect the sections, so as to enable a singleperson to remove the heavy body from the runninggear of a wagon withoutassistance, it is simply necessary to disengage the pivoted arms J fromthe levers II and then swing said levers into position shown in Fig. 2,so as to disengage the rods I from the side walls D. The end walls F andG may then be lifted one by one out of the ways h of the side walls, andwhen this has been done the hooks 0 may be disconnected from the keepersB and consequently the side walls D from the bottom A by simply drawingthe side walls in the direction indicated by arrow in Fig. 1. Thesections a b of the bottom A may then be disconnected by fiexing saidbottom, as shown, and may be removed one by one from the body. The body,when disconnected and removed from the running-gear of a wagon, as justdescribed, may be packed in a very small space.

When it is desired to place the body on the running-gear of a wagon, itis simply necessary to first place the bottom section b in position,then the bottom section a, and arrange the beams of and the cleats 6 soas the upper sides of the sections a b will be flush; then place thewalls D one by one on the beams c f and shove them endwise, so that thekeepers C will engage the devices B, as shown in Fig. l, and then placethe end walls F G in position between the side walls D and secure thesame by properly manipulating the levers II and the securing devices J.

It will be observed that both in placing the wagon-body on arunning-gear and removing A it therefrom the pieces or sections of thebody may be placed in position and connected and may also bedisconnected and removed by a single person without assistance andwithout undue exertion or heavy lifting, which is an important advantageand a desideratum in this class of devices. It will also be observedthat when the parts or sections of my improved wagon-body are properlyconnected in the manner described they will not be liable to casualdisconnection and a body will be formed which will be equal in strength,durability, and appearance to the bodies at present in use, in which theparts are permanently and fixedly connected together.

Having described my invention, what I claim is 1. A sectional wagon-bodycomprising a bottom formed by the longitudinal sections a, 1), arrangedside by side, the transverse beams 0, connected to the under side of thesection a, and extending beyond the outer edge of said section a, andalso extending beneath and beyond the section b, the transverse beams f,connected to the under side of the section b, and extending beyond theouter edge of said section b, and also extending beneath and beyond thesection a, the keepers connected to the extended portions of thetransverse beams c, f, adjacent to the bottom sections a, b, andextending upwardly from said beams and having their upper ends bentinwardly and downwardly, the side walls, the hooks 0, connected to theouter sides of the said walls and having the laterally and upwardlyextending portions engaging the keepers, and end walls detachablyconnected with the side walls, substantially as described.

2. A sectional wagon-body comprising a bottom formed by the longitudinalsections a, 19, arranged side by side, the transverse beams 0, connectedto the under side of the section a, and extending beyond the outer edgeof said section a, and also extending beneath and beyond the section b,the transverse beams f, connected to the under side of the section b,and extending beyond the outer edge of said section b, and alsoextending beneath and beyond the section a, the transverse cleats 6,connected to the under side of the bottom section a, and extendingbeneath the section b, and arranged at the inner sides of the transversebeams .f, the keepers connected to the extended portions of thetransverse beams c, f, adjacent to the bottom sections a, b, andextending upwardly from said beams and having their upper ends bentinwardly and downwardly, the stops g, arranged at one end of the saidkeepers, the side walls, the hooks 0, connected to the outer sides ofthe said walls and having the laterally and upwardly extending portionsengaging the keepers, and end walls detachably connected with the sidewalls, substantially as described.

3. In a wagon-body, the combination of the side walls having the socketsin their outer sides adjacent to their upper edges, and also havingvertical guideways on their inner sides, the end wall arranged andadapted to be moved in said guideways, the verticallydisposed leverfulcrumed on said end wall, and the rods connected to said lever atopposite sides of the fulcrum thereof and extending through guides onthe end wall and having their outer ends bent downwardly and inwardly soas to enable them to enter the sockets of the side walls, and an armpivoted on the end wall and adapted to engage and hold the lever,substantially as described.

In testimony whereof I affix my signature in presence of two witnesses.

WILLIAM H. BOETTCHER.

Witnesses:

RUDOLPH LIEBNER, ROBERT BOETTOHER.

